A Letter to Maria
by Bagpipedesaster
Summary: Kate confesses her feelings about Gibbs to her close friend Maria...in a letter... KIBBS Chapter 2 is up. This is now COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My muse keeps kickin' my ass – no use trying to resist. And I'm taking it out on you guys, sorry.

Disclaimer: I still don't own these characters, although they feel pretty familiar by now.

X

Kate sat on her sofa, her morning coffee on the table, and picked up the letter she had started to

write to Maria the last evening.

Maria was one of her dearest friends. Although she had moved back to Rio de Janeiro six

years ago, they stayed in close contact. They had developed a habit of writing long letters

serving the same effect as keeping a diary. It helped her to sort things out and gave her the

chance to articulate her feelings. Even though she had felt a great loss, when Maria had left

the U.S., she now thought it was actually easier to communicate long-distance.

She took a sip of her coffee and read through what she had written so far:

_Dear Maria,_

_I know it's been a long time since my last letter. I got yours and I can only say that I'm so _

_proud of you. You make it sound so easy – bringing up your child and running your cute little _

_hotel. I don't think Miguel deserves you. (You know how much I like him, do you?)._

_I'm still living alone. No time for a family and as to relationships – more about that later._

_Work at the NCIS is still interesting and sometimes even fun. It's a fantastic bunch of people I _

_work with._

_First, there's Ducky. He's the M.E. Old fashioned in the best meaning of the word. I love the _

_way he talks, although he can easily need an hour to tell you what someone else would have _

_said in two sentences. He's full of stories he loves to share. We have to cut him off regularly _

_and I always feel a little sorry about that. Abby works in the lab too. She's a Goth and she's _

_extreme. Extremely good at her work, extremely smart, extremely funny and her taste in music _

_is….guess….extreme. She's completely different from how I am. Maybe that's why I like her _

_so much._

_And then, there's Tony. He's like a brother to me. He's a nuisance sometimes, but he's also _

_fun to be around. And I know that he'll be right there if I need him. He's still in the "hunter _

_and collector" stage of his development, but I think he'll be really nice if he lives long enough _

_to mature._

_There's one more person I want to introduce you to. The most important one, I guess. First of _

_all, he's my boss, and second….wait and see._

_His name is Gibbs. Jethro (don't laugh!) Gibbs. He's quite a bit older than the rest of us _

_(Except Ducky, of course) but, as far as I can tell in pretty good shape. Talking about pretty… _

_he looks good, as long as you don't mind his haircut, that is. He's very, very good at what _

_he's doing. An analytic mind combined with good instincts and a vast amount of experience._

_He's extremely demanding and won't let us get away with anything but the best we can do._

_Not that I mind. I've always tried to give my best at work._

_The only problem I have with him is that I start to like him too much. I even don't understand _

_why. He is impatient, blunt, demanding, taciturn, gruff and sarcastic. He hears everything, _

_sees everything (although I think his eyesight is weakening) and is the ultimate control freak._

_And he has a way of looking at people that makes them talk or shut up – whatever it was, he _

_wanted, just like that, just looking at them._

_Doesn't sound too nice, does it? And yet, there's something…..He's like a rock. If the whole _

_world would fall to pieces, with everybody freaking out and panicking, he would come up with _

_a plan. When he tells you, you did good you know you _really_ did good. And when he smiles at _

_you – I would do almost anything for that smile._

_Now, don't worry, Maria. I'm not making a fool of myself. Nobody does or will ever know _

_about my feelings for him. Nobody, except you and me. And before you ask (I know you…);_

_No, there's no chance for romance. Gibbs has a rule for almost anything. One says: Romance _

_between agents never works. _

_But, as you always said: It's ok to dream, right?_

_I sometimes feel like I'm back to being a teenager again. Do you remember us day-dreaming _

_about Mr. Fraser, the geography teacher? I frequently catch myself thinking about Gibbs. _

_About how much I love his hands. They are big, strong and rough – he's building a boat, you _

_know. Sometimes, when he comes to my desk he puts a hand on my shoulder. That's enough to _

_fire my fantasy, silly I would say._

_And sometimes when he comes to stand real close to me….enough of that!_

_Gibbs is the perfect man for me to dream about and maybe it's good they will never come _

_true. And it's fun to know that he doesn't know…._

At that point she had given up and gone to bed. Kate put the unfinished letter in her bag.

Maybe she'd have the chance to finish it in her lunch-break.

It was not before she came home that evening, that she realized how hungry she was. They had been

so busy, working on two equally important cases at the same time that she had totally

forgotten to eat.

She called the pizza-service and went to the living room. She would use the time until her

food was delivered to finish that letter to Maria. She opened her bag to take it out, but

couldn't find it. She searched once more, and them emptied the bag on the floor. No letter!

"Ok, Kate," she advised herself. "Think. When did you open your bag during the day?"

The perception made her gasp. The letter was on her desk at the bureau. She had taken it out

when she looked for an aspirin and never put it back in.

She was in cold sweat. This very, very personal letter was lying on her desk, open for

everyone to see. This…was…not…good!

"Stay calm," she tried to think rational. Tony had left before her and would be in later as she

would tomorrow. He always came in late. Abby and Ducky would leave the lab without going

to the bureau. The only one that had still been there, when she left was… Gibbs. Why did it

have to be Gibbs?

She thought about going back but decided against it. He would have left too by now, and she

would make sure to be the first one in tomorrow. With just a little bit of luck she would come

out of this with no harm done.

This night, she dreamed about Gibbs, sitting in his chair, feet on his desk, reading a letter….

Tbc


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for your reviews on the first chapter!

Little Lunar Wolf: I had to look that word up! So I'm learing something on this board, thanks. Hope you enjoy the rest of thestory.

Mellie: Casa Aurea, Rua Aurea no80, Santa Tresa, Rio de Janeiro - check it out!

X

She was the first one in the office the next morning. In fact, she got there two hours early. She

had kept waking up, thinking about that d…n letter and finally given up.

She used the extra time to finish it, telling Maria what had happened and then made sure it

was hidden deep inside her bag.

Gibbs was the next one to arrive, carrying his usual cup of Starbucks'.

"Good morning, Kate," he sounded normal. But Kate wasn't to be fooled easily. She would

observe him even closer than she normally did.

"Morning, Gibbs. I got a fax from the Fairfax police. They're sending us the DNA samples of

our three suspects."

"Good. Are the files from Norfolk already here?"

"Just got them. I just started to look if someone meets the profile."

"Very good, Kate," he smiled at her. "I'm seeing Abby. Call me if you got a hit."

Kate was alienated. Gibbs never had smiled at her just because she was doing her job. What

had she written in her letter about what his smiles meant to her?

"Kate, stop it!" she told herself off.

But that was easier said than done. During the whole morning she had the impression that

Gibbs looked at her more often than usual, he stood close to her more often than necessary

and he gave her more smiles than he usually would in a month.

When it was time for lunch-break, Kate was a nervous wreck. She was glad that Gibbs went

to lunch with Ducky and she had some time to calm down a little.

If Gibbs had really read the letter, he would have made some remark, she tried to convince

herself. He just had a good day. They made good progress in both cases and that was the only

reason for his strange behaviour. If she only could believe that. She thought about bringing up

the subject and ask him if he had read it.

"Not a good idea, Kate," she told herself. If he hadn't seen it he would want to know what this

letter was about, and then what?

When Gibbs came back things got even worse. When ever she looked in his direction she saw

him look at her. No, he didn't just look at her, he studied her. She had never needed that long

to type a report. She made one mistake after the other. He wanted to drive her insane. And she

knew he was enjoying it. She got up and went to the bathroom.

"This has got to end," she decided. "And if that means, I'll make the ultimate fool of myself-

who cares?"

She would wait until they were alone, and then she would ask him. Relieved to have a plan,

she went back to the bull-pen.

Gibbs was writing something. He wasn't typing in the computer, he was hand-writing.

But he didn't pay attention to her.

Kate relaxed a little and managed to finish her report. As soon as she had set the last point her

mind started to go crazy again. What on earth did he write? Sure, Gibbs still used paper and

pen to take notes when they were out investigating. But here at the office he would use the

computer. Kate had never thought about herself as being nosy, but now she more than

anything else whished for Gibbs to leave the office so that she could take a look.

"Don't even think of it, Kate," she ordered herself.

Five minutes later her chance had come. Gibbs got up and left the bureau and what ever he

had written was still there on his desk. Open for everyone to see. For someone who came to

his desk to leave some files, for example. Or a report.

Kate picked up the papers she had worked on. After she had taken another look around, she

got up and approached his desk.

It obviously was a letter that Gibbs had written.

Her heart stopped from beating when she started to read.

_Hi Harm,_

_There is someone new in my life that I want to tell you about. He name is Caitlin, Kate, or _

_Katie as I call her when I dream about her. She works with me and she is the best female _

_agent I ever had in my team. And that not being enough, she's downright gorgeous. She's _

_beautiful, smart, warm-hearted and brave enough to stand up to me._

_As far as I can tell by now, she has only one fault: she has a habit of leaving personal things _

_on her desk and reading other people's letters._

Kate gasped for air and looked up. Gibbs stood in the doorway and watched her, a

mischievous smile showing on his face.

Kate blushed.

"Beam me up, Scotty," she thought. She looked at the file in her hand but felt she needed to

say something.

"I….I'm sorry….I didn't want to…" she stammered.

"Kate," Gibbs interrupted her and started to walk towards her. "Stop it!"

He had reached the bull-pen now and was standing right in front of her. He took the files she

had almost crumpled and put them on the desk. Kate was in shock. This didn't happen! She

felt his look on her.

"Gibbs, I..."

"Would you please shut up, Katie?" Gibbs voice made her shiver.

"I don't want you to apologize, I want you to kiss me," he paused for a moment. "And I want

you write to many more letters to Maria," he bent his head and was just inches away from her mouth

when he continued. "Can you promise that?"

Kate never got the chance to answer.

The End...


End file.
